WATCH OUR FASCINATING FILM ABOUT LEWIS AND CLARK IN ILLINOIS  – WHERE THEY MADE THE PREPARATIONS FOR THEIR EXPEDITION: https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_pmx1aa8p

Read this brief illustrated history of Lewis and Clark as they encamped at Wood River and prepared to depart Illinois, cross the Mississippi River and ascend the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean: https://uofi.box.com/s/db0q2hquv5cwh5wvqt7m599vvkepb3w1

VISIT THE LEWIS AND CLARK STATE HISTORIC SITE JUST SOUTH OF ALTON.
It is located very near where Lewis and Clark had their encampment, along Wood River (River Dubois), to prepare for the great expedition.

The State Historic Site consists of replica log cabins like those believed to have been constructed by the expedition.

And there is an excellent interpretive center. 

The architecture of the back of the museum iterates the keel boat of the expedition, known from a drawing by Clark. 

Painting called “Departure from Wood River” by Gary Lucy – depicting the Expedition  leaving their Wood River winter encampment on May 14, 1804 to cross the Mississippi River, thence to ascend the Missouri River.

The displays consist of numerous well-drawn panels explaining the five months of preparations for the epic journey as well as its route and encounters with Native American peoples.  .

We are delighted to present this interview with Dr. Blaire Topash-Caldwell (https://mediaspace.illinois.edu/media/t/1_3ql7bsvn) who gives a Native American perspective on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

SOME REFERENCES ABOUT LEWIS AND CLARK
The Definitive Journals of Lewis & Clark. 7-volume set.  (Bison Books, 2002)
John Logan Allen. Lewis and Clark and the Image of the American Northwest (Dover, 2012)
Stephen E. Ambrose. Undaunted Courage. The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier (Simon and Schuster, 2016)
William E. Foley. Wilderness Journey. The Life of William Clark (University of Missouri Press, 2004)
Carolyn Gilman. Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide (Smithsonian, 2003)
Peter J. Kastor. William Clark’s World. Describing America in an Age of Unknowns (Yale University Press, 2011)
Larry E. Morris. The Fate of the Corps. What Became of Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition (Yale University Press, 2004)
M.O. Skarsten. George Drouillard. Hunter and Interpreter for Lewis and Clark & Fur Trader, 1807-1810. (Bison Books, 2005)
Thomas P. Slaughter. Exploring Lewis and Clark. Reflections on Men and Wilderness (Knopf, 2003)
Robert M. Utley. After Lewis and Clark (Bison Books, 2004)